INDIAN LAND – The Swamp Hogs motorcycle club from Monck’s Corner did a safety check before leaving on a 1,000-mile trip Friday morning.

They went over hand signals. They talked about riding their 13 motorcycles staggered, the hand signals they would use on the ride and how they would stop to put on their helmets when they got to North Carolina, which requires helmets.

The club, with 13 bikes riding, stopped a few times as they made their way across South Carolina.

Lancaster County Council is preparing for significant cuts to the county’s library and recreation services in its new budget.

Council, which gave first reading to its 2010-11 budget Monday, is considering a third consecutive budget with no property tax increases.

The new budget will include state-mandated cuts, salary adjustments and increases in utility payments, but the most notable changes include a proposed 10 percent reduction in the county’s contribution to library and recreation services.

SPARTANBURG – Five days before his first birthday, Tyler Horton suffered a fall that led to bleeding in his brain.

The bleeding affected his vision to the point that Tyler, of Kershaw, is now legally blind. Doctors said that Tyler would never be able to walk or talk and that his growth would be stunted at best.

However, through his sheer will and determination, Tyler Horton is now a strapping young man at 6-feet, 4-inches, has never missed a day of school in 14 years, and on Tuesday, he graduated from the S.C. School for the Deaf and the Blind (SCSDB).

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office are investigating the death of a 13-months-old child.

James Brian Jones was found unresponsive by his parents about 7 a.m. Tuesday. Lancaster County Emergency Medical Services responded to the home located at 1320 Culp-Landsford Road, Lancaster, and began emergency life-saving treatment, but the infant was unable to be resuscitated, a news release from the sheriff’s office said.

The musical acts wowed the crowd, vendors were successful and the weather was beautiful.

Organizers say things went according to plan for the inaugural Red Rose Festival, which was this past weekend in downtown Lancaster.

The festival, held Friday evening and most of Saturday, featured a strong helping of entertainment, including bands Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, which headlined, and Nantucket, which drew the largest crowd Saturday.

There were many local and out-of-town vendors in attendance, selling food and a wide array of arts and crafts.

It’s a building campaign – complete with hard hats and a bulldozer – but without red bricks and concrete. The name says it all: “Building a Better Business Community – One Member at a Time!” It is a two-week construction effort of the Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce in pursuit of a stronger organization representing the local business community.

A Lancaster man pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a former Chicago resident who moved to Lancaster to escape violence.

Monterio Hood, 20, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, assault and battery with intent to kill, possession of crack cocaine, carrying a pistol and possession of a stolen pistol as part of a negotiated plea in the death of Anthony Armour, 31, 6th Circuit Solicitor Doug Barfield said. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.